Trump: "Powell, Fed Chair, is Political... Will Replace if Re-elected"

Donald Trump, the former president who is likely to be the Republican candidate in the U.S. presidential election, declared that he would not reappoint Jerome Powell as Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) if he regains the presidency.

In an interview with Fox News released on the 2nd (local time), Trump criticized Powell as "political" and claimed that he might push for interest rate cuts to help the Democratic Party. When asked whether he would reappoint Powell after his term expires in 2026, he replied, "I will not," adding, "He missed 'inflation.'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Trump predicted that "there is a possibility of massive inflation again because the Middle East could raise energy prices." He said, "Bombs are falling here and there in the Middle East, and ships are continuously being attacked," and added, "If that happens, oil prices could surge significantly, causing massive inflation." He continued, "Powell will be powerless, but in my view, he will try to lower interest rates to get people elected," and added, "He will probably do something to help the Democrats."

Powell served as Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Treasury during the Republican George H.W. Bush administration and was appointed to the Fed Board by Democratic President Barack Obama. Later, he was appointed Fed Chair in February 2018 by then-President Donald Trump and often clashed with Trump over the latter’s explicit demands for interest rate cuts. Trump frequently argued that the Fed’s failure to lower rates during his term strengthened the dollar and negatively affected the economy.

Subsequently, Powell was praised for his bold zero interest rate policy during the pandemic crisis, which helped overcome the crisis, and President Biden announced Powell’s reappointment in 2022. After Powell’s reappointment, Trump expressed surprise and criticized Powell for "always being late, whether good or bad," when making policy decisions. The Fed Chair’s term is four years, but reappointments are common.

Trump replaced then-Fed Chair Janet Yellen with Powell but retained others such as Ben Bernanke and Paul Volcker, while Alan Greenspan served as Fed Chair for 18 years. When asked who might replace Powell as Fed Chair, Trump said, "There are about two options," but added, "I can’t say right now."

In the interview, Trump expressed confidence regarding the current strong U.S. stock market despite the poor economy under the Biden administration, saying investors believe "I will be elected."

Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market has continued its rally since the new year, supported by optimistic expectations of interest rate cuts and strong earnings from big tech companies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.